Toxic behavior in online multiplayer gamesBY: GEERT VAN DEN BURG

CURVE FEVERA.K.A. ACHTUNG, DIE KURVE!

The beginning

Total 1000 players

Waiting time: 10 minutes or more to start a game

But: Very nice atmosphere!

Bigger community, more toxicity - In absolute sense: more toxic behavior

- Not necessarily fans of the game enter your community

- Community grows, our team stayed small

- We were ill prepared

Industry wide problem Big problem for other games and communities

- League of Legends

- Call of Duty

- YouTube

- Blog comments

- Small group can skew perception

- Need reliable manpower to handle it

- Nothing to loose, because anonymous

Many think:

Why do we care? Two of the top reasons players play Curve Fever are:

1. Competitive play

2. Social interactions I don’t recommend this game to anyone under 18, because a lot of players in this game are insulting you and your whole family

Who is toxic?

Most of the times, not one clear profile

In real life: nice guys

Most of the ‘toxic’ players actually are fan of your game

How to handle toxic behavior1. Remove the triggers

2. Hide toxic behavior from others

3. Give feedback to the player

4. Remove toxic players

5. Stimulate positive behavior

In-game & forums

Triggers of toxic behavior Losing games

Feeling of unfairness

Very competitive environment

Just liking to troll

1. Remove the triggers2. Hide toxic behavior from others3. Give feedback to the player4. Remove toxic players5. Stimulate positive behavior

Don’t facilitate toxic behavior - minimize cheating possibilities

Hiding toxic behavior

1. Remove the triggers2. Hide toxic behavior from others3. Give feedback to the player4. Remove toxic players5. Stimulate positive behavior

ReportedPlayer: lolPlayer1: XDReportedPlayer: wtfReportedPlayer: cunt greenReportedPlayer: FUCK YOU GREEN SHITReportedPlayer: cash angel suck a dick

ReportedPlayer: lolPlayer1: XDReportedPlayer: wtfReportedPlayer: mooh greenReportedPlayer: mooh YOU GREEN moohReportedPlayer: cash angel mooh a mooh

Hiding toxic behavior Shadow banning

- Shadow banned person should not know

- Can apply in-game after trigger moments

1. Remove the triggers2. Hide toxic behavior from others3. Give feedback to the player4. Remove toxic players5. Stimulate positive behavior

gg

STFU u idiot

I threaten all your family!

Tight game

Toxic player

gg

Tight game

Rest of the world

Give feedback If not confronted players won’t understand -> Spam

- Show why on their posts

- Send them mail why they got banned from the game

- Show message why they got banned on login

1. Remove the triggers2. Hide toxic behavior from others3. Give feedback to the player4. Remove toxic players5. Stimulate positive behavior

Remove toxic players Most of the times not the solution, but sometimes…

(Free) players are content for paying players

Can’t buy privilege to be toxic

1. Remove the triggers2. Hide toxic behavior from others3. Give feedback to the player4. Remove toxic players5. Stimulate positive behavior

Stimulate positive behavior More events and happenings

- Tournaments

- Sales!

- Promo activities

- Creativity contests

- Selfie topic

Players ask for sales and promo’s themselvesGreat opportunity for monetization and PR

Almost always started by a woman. Get woman on your mod team!

1. Remove the triggers2. Hide toxic behavior from others3. Give feedback to the player4. Remove toxic players5. Stimulate positive behavior

The future of toxicityCurrent problems:

- Need man power

- Feedback often too late

Future:

- Machine moderators as a service

Conclusions

We went from a very negative community to a positive community

Happy with our players!

1. Remove the trigger2. Hide toxic behavior from others3. Give feedback to the player4. Remove toxic players5. Stimulate positive behavior

My name is: Geert van den BurgFrom: Curve FeverContact: geert@curvefever.comTwitter: @geertvandenburg